Khashoggi widow urges U.S. to hold Saudis accountable

She questions Biden’s commitment to the cause after his NSA met with the Saudi Crown Prince

Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi’s widow on Friday questioned U.S. President Joe Biden’s commitment to hold the kingdom accountable three years after the writer’s brutal murder.

Marking the anniversary, Hatice Cengiz traveled to Washington for a demonstration outside the Saudi embassy and an evening vigil near the U.S. Capitol where she unveiled a portrait of Khashoggi made out of newspaper columns.

She voiced dismay that days ahead of the anniversary, Mr. Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who U.S. intelligence says ordered the killing.

“Is this what the accountability that Mr. Biden promised looks like?” she asked at the candlelight vigil organised by rights groups.

“MBS took Jamal from me and the entire world. Will you hold him accountable or will you reward these murderers?” she said, referring to the 36-year-old heir apparent by his initials.

Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi who lived in self-exile in the United States, wrote critically about MBS in columns in The Washington Post.

Also addressing the evening vigil was the sister of Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, a Red Crescent aid worker who was arrested in 2018 and earlier this year was handed a 20-year sentence after criticising the Saudi leadership through an anonymous Twitter account.

She said she was hopeful the new U.S. administration’s pressure would win her brother’s release but that changed after Mr. Biden let MBS “off the hook.”

Source: Read Full Article